Copyright (c) 2009 Berkeley Electronic Press All rights reserved. http://www.bepress.com/ijnes Recent documents in International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:24:08 PST 3600 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art37 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art37 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:47:06 PST Because much of a nurse's work is accomplished through working in groups, nursing students need an understanding of group process as well as opportunities to problem-solve in groups. Despite an emphasis on group activities as critical for classroom learning, there is a lack of evidence in the nursing literature that describes collaborative essay testing as a teaching strategy. In this class, nursing students worked together in small groups to answer examination questions before submitting a common set of answers. In a follow-up survey, students reported that collaborative testing was a positive experience (e.g., promoting critical thinking, confidence in knowledge, and teamwork). Faculty were excited by the lively dialog heard during the testing in what appeared to be an atmosphere of teamwork. Future efforts could include providing nursing students with direct instruction on group process and more opportunities to work and test collaboratively. Peggy A. Gallagher Evaluation Group Work http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art36 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art36 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:58:15 PST Employer evaluation of graduates is a critical component of professional program evaluation and contributes a viewpoint rarely reported in the literature. It has been proposed that Problem-Based Learning (PBL) enhances knowledge acquisition, clinical competency and professional behavior. Students assume the role of a registered nurse as they work through real practice scenarios on a daily basis in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to explore employer perceptions of graduates' knowledge, competency and professionalism, following completion of a PBL program. Nurse employers (N=53) participated in 10 focus group discussions. Four main themes were derived from employer descriptions of their experience with PBL graduates: still rough around the edges, we want them to succeed, a new generation of practitioner, and potential to lead the profession into the future. Please add what the implications of these findings are to nursing education. Bev Williams graduates employers PBL http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art35 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art35 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:53:04 PST The aim of this study was to evaluate how student nurse teachers meet the requirements of nurse teachers as they practice teaching in nurse education. The data was collected by the Evaluation of Requirements of Nurse Teachers (ERNT), as self-evaluations and peer evaluations answered by 40 student teachers over three years. The response rate was 82%. The total number of completed questionnaires received was 143. Data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The student teachers gained a high level of competence as teachers. The highest level of competence was reported in relationships with students, while the lowest level was associated with teaching skills. Of the single requirements, the weakest skills were related to teaching decision-making and encouraging students constantly to seek new knowledge. The nursing competence was mainly evaluated with high-level scores. Evaluations by the student teachers themselves and their peer students were in line. Leena Kaarina Salminen nurse teacher education competence of student teachers http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art34 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art34 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:51:28 PDT Reports that new nurse graduates are not sufficiently prepared to enter the workforce are of concern to educators, employers, and other stakeholders. Often, this lack of 'practice readiness' is defined in relation to an inability to 'hit the ground running' and is attributed to a 'gap' between theory and practice and the nature of current work environments. To gain a deeper understanding of the process of making the transition from student to graduate nurse, discussion groups were held across Alberta with 14 new graduates and 133 staff nurses, employers, and educators. Five additional new graduates and 34 staff nurses, employers, and educators provided input by fax or e-mail. The findings of this initiative speak to the need to examine assumptions underlying 'practice readiness' and what constitutes an effective transition to the workplace. The problems to be addressed are complex and a wide range of sustainable, evidence-based approaches are required to resolve them. Donna M. Romyn Nursing education; Nursing practice http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art33 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art33 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:06:51 PDT Nurses must provide culturally appropriate care. A powerful strategy to enhance cultural competency is immersion. This can increase awareness of personal beliefs, values, behaviors, and learning from clients. A three week immersion experience for 17 senior undergraduate nursing students was organized in partnership with the Independent University, Bangladesh. Working with interpreters, students learned about people and healthcare through interviews and site visits. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the meaning of the immersion experience for nursing students through their reflective journals. These were thematically analyzed and four themes emerged: Beginning to See, Thinking about the Seen, Wanting to Change the Seen, and Transformed by the Seen. These themes combine into a framework that has been tentatively titled, Seeing Through New Eyes and will be further developed on future trips. Achieving cultural competency is a complex, long-term process that can be intensified with immersion experiences. Hendrika J. Maltby Research: reflective journaling of study abroad experience http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art32 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art32 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:46:17 PDT Two university-based schools of nursing and two healthcare regions, supported by a nurses' union, have formed an intersectoral collaboration to develop a practice educator curriculum. The curriculum is designed to increase educator capacity and practice-academic relationships. This article describes the preliminary groundwork among intersectoral partners. Practice and academic educators do not always recognize each others' expertise or share resources effectively. An online survey and focus groups were conducted to identify educators' similar successes and challenges, their perspectives of key criteria necessary to establish practice-academic collaborations and learning environments, and intent to leave. The findings revealed many similarities across sectors, although practice and academic educators had different foci or perspectives that will need to be bridged by the collaboration. Strategies are suggested to maximize educators' commonalities, provide better supports to minimize intent to leave, and ensure sustainability. Maura MacPhee practice education academic education collaborations http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art31 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art31 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:45:47 PDT Faculty in Canadian undergraduate nursing programs have come to rely on preceptorship as the primary model for teaching and learning during the final clinical course. A focused ethnography was completed in order to examine undergraduate nursing students' experience of rural hospital preceptorship in western Canada. Data analysis revealed that students perceive nursing faculty involvement and support to be peripheral to the clinical experience. Strategies aimed at clarifying the faculty role and nursing programs' involvement are presented as a means to enhance the rural hospital learning experience. Monique Sedgwick Nursing education preceptorship http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art30 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art30 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:57:14 PDT This descriptive and multivariate correlational study identifies work-related situations that were perceived as stressful in a sample of part-time clinical affiliate nursing faculty (n = 91) from a western state who teach in baccalaureate programs. The most stressful conditions include being physically and emotionally drained; working outside regular hours; dealing with the number of role expectations; and receiving inadequate monetary compensation. Subjects reported other specific stressful situations related to their work with clinical agencies, universities, and students. The researcher also examined the relationships between selected background factors (number of years of clinical teaching experience, clinical teacher education, and holding a second job), role stress, and job satisfaction. Even though this sample had a high job satisfaction rating, the variable, role stress, was shown to significantly predict job satisfaction. Lastly, implications for nurse educators in baccalaureate programs are explored. Kathleen S. Whalen Nursing education; healthy work environment http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art29 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art29 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:07:44 PDT Understanding the components of faculty workload is critical to recruitment and retention of nurse educators and to success and sustainability of nursing education programs. The role of faculty advisors has been linked to student retention and success in nursing undergraduate education. Despite the importance of academic advising, there is a paucity of research examining the impact of advising on the workload of nurse educators. When faculty roles, such as academic advising, are ostensibly valued by the institution and result in higher levels of student success, but are unrecognized and unrewarded as part of the workload formula, faculty stress and burnout can result. Recommendations for faculty advising are offered, based on current evidence regarding the importance of faculty advising and the impact of advising on the workload of nurse educators. Implications for redefining nursing faculty workload formulas are discussed. Connie Diaz Swearingen Faculty advising in nursing education managing nurse educator workload http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art28 http://www.bepress.com/ijnes/vol6/iss1/art28 Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:19:02 PDT Ongoing restructuring within the health care system juxtaposed with mandated increased seats in nursing programs have taxed traditional clinical practice settings beyond their capacity. In the search for suitable clinical placements to meet learning objectives and fulfill required clinical hours, nursing program administrators are turning to various non-traditional settings. Yet limited research exists to describe the prevalence and types of 'innovative' clinical placements (ICPs) or the nature and quality of student learning in such settings. Described in this article are findings from a national survey of Canadian baccalaureate nursing programs completed by nurse educators and clinical placement coordinators regarding nursing student placements within ICPs. Participant survey responses provide a national snap-shot of ICPs, along with perspectives on pedagogy, strengths and weaknesses, capacity and sustainability issues, and ethical, legal and academic considerations associated with student placements in these settings. Catherine Hoe Harwood